Imperfections – is this how you identify yourself? I don’t think you’re alone. The whole bible is filled with such people. When we look at the genealogy of Jesus Christ in Matthew 1, we find a lot of names. When we look at the life of all those people, we don’t find perfect human beings rather the opposite. Some people like:
Jacob – cheater
Tamar – wife of father-in-law(Canaanite)
Rahab – prostitute
Ruth – non-Israelite(Moabite)
David – killed Uriah
Bathsheba – non-Israelite(Hittite)
I could go on and on of all the imperfections of all the people in the genealogy of Jesus Christ. Yet God chose them to be in His genealogy. He didn’t look for perfect human beings so the perfect son of God could be born on earth for our sins.
This is the beauty of God, that He chooses imperfect vessels for glorious work in the kingdom of God. The only character that God expects from us is that we become the person God wants us to be after He calls us and walk in His ways for His glory. All these people might have bad backgrounds and imperfections in their lives, but they all ended their lives as saints in the kingdom of God.
Why is this truth so important? This truth is as important as the faith we have in Jesus as Christians. What do I mean by this? Sometimes the faith we have in Jesus is diluted by the condemnation and hate and regret we carry against ourselves and our past. Have you experienced guilt and remorse that you carry against yourself stopping you from doing what God wants you to do? I certainly have and think it is the greatest weapon that the enemy uses to stop us from walking in the call of God in our lives. The way we handle our weakest moments determines whether we would find ourselves in a place of victory in the future.
I have seen this pattern in my life – God would cleanse me from my sins and make me holy as He is and make me right-standing with God. I would accept it and then continue my life in victory. Then I would fail in someplace, probably my weaknesses. ‘The immediate thought that the enemy puts in my mind is this: you have sinned and have made God angry. God hates you and doesn’t want you as you are good for nothing in the kingdom of God. you are not able to walk in what God has for and will never do so’. This thought will sustain in my mind and cause me to drift away from God and eventually cause me to sin and go to the place where I started before God cleansed me and sanctified me. Do you have similar experiences? Do you find yourself in this never-ending loop of pain and regret? Do you wish every time that you would walk in victory and not in defeat?
Just as we saw in the genealogy of Jesus,
God is not looking for perfect people to do His work. Rather He is looking for people who are willing to change, to repent and become the ones they are meant to be in the kingdom of God.
having an attitude of repentance and forgiveness towards ourselves is the right attitude that we must have to live in victory and the right way to approach the pattern of failure mentioned before. The moment those negative thoughts of guilt and condemnation come into your mind, you have to look at yourself the way God looks at you. God doesn’t hate you or push you away. Rather He loves you and wants you. He created you in His perfect image. He wants you to truly repent and ask for His grace to help you along the way to walk in freedom and joy. The next time you encounter the same situation, you will see it through by the grace and the power of the Holy Ghost in you.
As you read this blog,
let your attitude about yourself change from IMPERFECTION to I’M PERFECTION BECAUSE MY FATHER IS PERFECT.